1) Can I still be a born again christian if I didn't believe in talking snakes, talking donkeys, Jonah living in a whales stomach for 3 days, bread falling from the sky, Noah's ark, water from rock, the sun and moon halting, walking sticks turning into snakes, dead men raising from the dead by touching other dead men, magical burning bushes that don't burn, sticks turning into almond plants over night, etc etc etc etc.?

2) Do people who acknowledge the theory of evolution as legitimate go to hell according to scripture?

I'm not trying to be disrespectful, I just cant make myself believe these things no matter how hard I try. I've been trying for a long time too and nothing is working. I even tried praying and reading my bible every night, and I still cant believe those things. Will I go to hell when I die? I worship Jesus with all of my heart and try to be like him as best I can. Please help!

1) Can I still be a born again christian if I didn't believe in talking snakes, talking donkeys, Jonah living in a whales stomach for 3 days, bread falling from the sky, Noah's ark, water from rock, the sun and moon halting, walking sticks turning into snakes, dead men raising from the dead by touching other dead men, magical burning bushes that don't burn, sticks turning into almond plants over night, etc etc etc etc.?

2) Do people who acknowledge the theory of evolution as legitimate go to hell according to scripture?

I'm not trying to be disrespectful, I just cant make myself believe these things no matter how hard I try. I've been trying for a long time too and nothing is working. I even tried praying and reading my bible every night, and I still cant believe those things. Will I go to hell when I die? I worship Jesus with all of my heart and try to be like him as best I can. Please help!

Well... as being a born again Christian means acknowledging Christ's death and resurrection, one might wonder what makes you believe that and dismiss the other supernatural claims as rubbish. Also, not meaning disrespect... just asking.

I do have a really hard time believing that a virgin can give birth to a child without intercourse, along with Jesus raising from his grave, BUT I'm still working on it!! I pray to Jesus everynight in hopes that he will make me believe those things, and I think its starting to work. I know it will be harder to get myself to believe all of the other magical occurrences though, and that's what I worry about. Will my lack of faith in magical occurrences send me to hell according to scripture? I NEED TO KNOW PLEASE HELP!!!

I do have a really hard time believing that a virgin can give birth to a child without intercourse, along with Jesus raising from his grave, BUT I'm still working on it!! I pray to Jesus everynight in hopes that he will make me believe those things, and I think its starting to work. I know it will be harder to get myself to believe all of the other magical occurrences though, and that's what I worry about. Will my lack of faith in magical occurrences send me to hell according to scripture? I NEED TO KNOW PLEASE HELP!!!

I find them no easier to believe than anyone else. They're supernatural by the fact that they absolutely defy natural explanation. But here's an interesting question: If there IS a God, do you believe He is constrained to behave only in ways which we deem "explainable"?

I'll bet god can do anything he wants actually. I wonder why god doesn't make snakes or donkeys talk today like he did back then? I have heard that some christian people in remote areas where they have little contact with the outside world see miracles everyday. I guess the reason why they aren't shown to the world is because they don't have cameras in their villages, and the media and science is bias towards anything that has to do with god, so they wouldn't show it anyways. I wish I could see a talking snake like Adam in the bible did, i think it would help me get past this 'spell' i have. I wish I had more faith like most other christians so i could believe in talking animals.

I do have a really hard time believing that a virgin can give birth to a child without intercourse, along with Jesus raising from his grave, BUT I'm still working on it!! I pray to Jesus everynight in hopes that he will make me believe those things, and I think its starting to work. I know it will be harder to get myself to believe all of the other magical occurrences though, and that's what I worry about. Will my lack of faith in magical occurrences send me to hell according to scripture? I NEED TO KNOW PLEASE HELP!!!


Hmmmm, it's hard to tell if your serious.:rolleyes:
I don't know if I would use the words "magical" to describe supernatural.
Yes, I think if you continue to ridicule Christianity, you will probably not have much chance of escaping Hell.

I'm serious, I'm just fairly new to Christianity so i guess i could seem fairly ignorant by using the wrong words to describe certain things although the dictionary describes magical as supernatural. I'll use supernatural from now on though.
magical
adjectivepossessing or using or characteristic of or appropriate to supernatural powers;

But can you please answer my questions in the first post? All i need is a yes or no question. Thanks I appreciate your help, and sorry for sounding stupid.

Does it matter one bit to your salvation if you believe in talking donkeys? Or how long it really took for God to create everything we see and know about today?

The Bible doesn't say that those who believe in talking donkeys will be saved. Just those who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and enter into everything He did for us (His death and resurrection) to take away our sins. The Old Testament was before Jesus came, this is now.

The rest will be worked out as you get to know God and understand what else is in the Bible, and why it's there. God saves people that have never even read the Old Testament, but hear about Jesus and God's love for us, and respond in faith, and are saved. And that was enough, and still is.

It may help with the "talking donkeys bit" to understand that for some people, God had to take drastic measures to get their attention. That should be a lesson to us, to be a little quicker with listening to Him and obeying Him more, don't you think? I wouldn't want to end up swallowed by a fish for God to bring me to my senses. It's easier to just accept that God is boss, and we are not, and obey and love other people as He wants us to. :)

Okay... John 3:16 says "God so loved the world that he gave his only son so he whoever believes in me shall not perish but have everlasting life."
So that means all i have to do is believe in Jesus right (that he died on the cross for our sins and rose 3 days later)? Is that what believing means?

Another question: Why do most Christians dislike people who acknowledge evolution as a legitimate theory? When I went into a church last weekend, i saw a bumper sticker on a car that was making fun of evolution, so I asked someone in the church why Christians are so harshly against the theory, and he said "because its scientist trying to ruin peoples faith in god by giving an alternative faith". I thought he was joking until his wife overheard the conversation and asked me if I believe in evolution, and I said yes, although i wouldn't call it a belief. After that she immediately changed her attitude towards me from being friendly to being standoffish. Why did she act that way towards a complete stranger just because they acknowledge a scientific theory that has nothing to do with chrisitianity?

Believing in Jesus is more than mentally agreeing with what He did.

It means to actually enter into it, that means accepting what Jesus did on my behalf as the punishment for my sin. Which makes Him my Savior. And to openly confess Him as my Lord. And then to understand that because He went through all that for my sin, that I no longer have the right to go out and sin like I used to want to. But to allow His Spirit to lead me into all truth and to help me obey God and treat others according to His rules, not my own previous selfish ones that weren't based on anything but my own wants and needs.

I'm a believer who has no problem taking Genesis 1 as not literal 24-hour days. I also don't believe that the Earth has to be 6000 years old for God to be real and for the Bible to be true. But that's up to each person's interpretation, and you will find some disagreement there. Some people think they have to take it literal or somehow it will do something to their faith and make the Bible not true. I found out that it doesn't. My faith in God is still firmly in place, and the Bible is still His Word.

I don't think Christians dislike everyone who think evolution is a viable theory. I think many of us have a bit of a problem when it's being taught as science, and infallible truth, with all of the gaps that are still there and all of its incongruities. Some folks treat evolution as some sort of religion and that's when things get a bit wonky, because you can't make something out of nothing and even the "big bang" had to come from somewhere. There's quite a few threads around these parts that go into evolution and how it relates to Christianity, and there are quite a few posters here that can explain things a lot better than I can, because I don't know enough about it to discuss it in depth (like you seem to want to). :)

Bottom line: I believe God made everything, including you and me. And again, He is boss, and we're not. And since He made everything, including the great big awesomely intimidating universe with all its billions of stars, He's not somebody I want to disobey. Obviously, He knows some things that I don't, has been around a lot longer than I have (forever, to be exact), and it would be a very smart idea to let Him teach me. :)

Whoaaa. So people actually interpret Genesis LITERALLY? How can they do that with all the evidence for the earth being 4.4 billion years old? How can they reject the fact that we can see the light of stars that are millions and millions of light years away? It seems impossible to say the earth is 6,000 years old. So basically most christians reject evolution because of the story of adam and eve? I wonder how many christians who reject evolution have read the origin of species before rejecting it? Hmmm i didn't know that christians had such a problem with these things. I know Capernicus was arrested for his non earthcenteric findings, and christians killed 100,000 people in the middle ages for being demon posessed, but i thought that was a thing of the past and christians have learned from their mistakes. It seems like people who are interpreting the bible literally are making the same mistakes as they have through history. Maybe I'm wrong about the majority of christians taking the bible literally, at least I hope so or this is semi-scary to me.

Do a lot of people take the old testament literally? Or is that a rare thing? I now know why the man and his wife at church looked so offended in our conversation. WOW thanks for the info, I told you I dont know much about christianity!

Not all Christians take Genesis literally. Yes, there are tons of questions that are raised in those passages and I can't make myself belief it either.

So what if the Genesis is a story giving glory to God but not to be taken literally? You can still believe in Jesus and accept Him as your savior. You can talk to any minister and I think most will tell you that the different parts of the Bible can be read in different ways, as history, as literature, as instructions, and other ways too.

I still think it all comes down to accepting Jesus. That's why I put him in my screen name. If you believe in Jesus and try to live like he would, with love and understanding to all, I think that is all you can hope to do.

Bex

1) Can I still be a born again christian if I didn't believe in talking snakes, talking donkeys, Jonah living in a whales stomach for 3 days, bread falling from the sky, Noah's ark, water from rock, the sun and moon halting, walking sticks turning into snakes, dead men raising from the dead by touching other dead men, magical burning bushes that don't burn, sticks turning into almond plants over night, etc etc etc etc.?

2) Do people who acknowledge the theory of evolution as legitimate go to hell according to scripture?

I'm not trying to be disrespectful, I just cant make myself believe these things no matter how hard I try. I've been trying for a long time too and nothing is working. I even tried praying and reading my bible every night, and I still cant believe those things. Will I go to hell when I die? I worship Jesus with all of my heart and try to be like him as best I can. Please help!

I'm confused. You worship Jesus with all of my heart yet your profile says you're not a christian ?

If you worship Jesus, why believe in evolution? Do you not believe He created both heaven and earth ?

1) Can I still be a born again christian if I didn't believe in talking snakes, talking donkeys, Jonah living in a whales stomach for 3 days, bread falling from the sky, Noah's ark, water from rock, the sun and moon halting, walking sticks turning into snakes, dead men raising from the dead by touching other dead men, magical burning bushes that don't burn, sticks turning into almond plants over night, etc etc etc etc.?

2) Do people who acknowledge the theory of evolution as legitimate go to hell according to scripture?

I'm not trying to be disrespectful, I just cant make myself believe these things no matter how hard I try. I've been trying for a long time too and nothing is working. I even tried praying and reading my bible every night, and I still cant believe those things. Will I go to hell when I die? I worship Jesus with all of my heart and try to be like him as best I can. Please help!

Before anyone can consider the truth claims of Christianity, one must FIRST accept the existence of God. The rational aspect of nature is evidence of a rational mind who created it.

Once having entertained the possibility of a transcendent God, one looks for other evidence of his activities. Thus, the supernatural only makes sense in terms of God's revelation of himself. If a transcendent being exists, a being that exists outside of the natural world, and if that being wants to make himself known to that world, the only way to do so, other than the logical inference from the existence of a rational design, is to interrupt nature in an inexplicable way.

And so, you will NEVER find God if you a-priori reject the kinds of evidence needed to prove his existence.

The problem with not believing the whole bible is - where do we draw the line? I'd have struggled just reading your first post, though the choice is God's not mine (but you did ask), to say yes you can be a believer.

But from subsequent posts you don't believe even the basics, the incarnation, virgin birth, the resurrection...... John 3:16 is excellent if a person understands what it means, but you need every book of the bible to do that.

Who is God? Who is his Son and what does the relationship mean? What does it mean to perish or have ever lasting life? What is belief and in what, what's required? What is the world?

Yes you need every book of the bible to understand the context/ meaning of that verse.

You are just the latest of a line of people I have met, who want part faith and to do things on there terms. Sorry, you have to submit to God, not have Jesus fit your life.

IMO You need 100% of the bible and to believe it all, to be a Christian. However where God has left room for human's to have minor differences, that is ok, as long as it doesn't contradict what God has revealed by divine inspiration.

There is a difference to responding to the gospel message and being a Christian. Please see Matthew's gospel chapter 13:1-9 then the explaination by Jesus at 13:18-23. Often we read these familiar stories too quickly.

Which seeds do you think you are? When new in faith, I was on rocky ground and when embarrassed I said no of course I don't believe miracles. But I grew slowly, read the bible daily and gradually the Spirit showed me how logical truth is. My world view from satan was blocking/ blinding me from God's Wisdom.

Have you read the whole bible? How many times? Just relax and keep reading a little daily and ask God to be with you and reveal in his time. The burden is light. You won't get it all at once, in a way you can't handle. Just you and the Word of God. Bless you, SofTy.

Okay... John 3:16 says "God so loved the world that he gave his only son so he whoever believes in me shall not perish but have everlasting life."
So that means all i have to do is believe in Jesus right (that he died on the cross for our sins and rose 3 days later)? Is that what believing means?


Rom 10:8-9 NKJV But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): (9) that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

There's a sticky thread at the top of this forum titled "How am I saved?" which you might find interesting.

Here's where different aspects of faith come into play. Firstly you need to believe that God exists at all - if you cannot accept the existence of God you cannot, by definition, accept that God raised Jesus from the dead.

If you can believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, why can you not believe that God caused a stick to turn into a snake?



Another question: Why do most Christians dislike people who acknowledge evolution as a legitimate theory? When I went into a church last weekend, i saw a bumper sticker on a car that was making fun of evolution, so I asked someone in the church why Christians are so harshly against the theory, and he said "because its scientist trying to ruin peoples faith in god by giving an alternative faith". I thought he was joking until his wife overheard the conversation and asked me if I believe in evolution, and I said yes, although i wouldn't call it a belief. After that she immediately changed her attitude towards me from being friendly to being standoffish. Why did she act that way towards a complete stranger just because they acknowledge a scientific theory that has nothing to do with chrisitianity?

Evolution is valid as a theory. I believe it is incorrect, but if we regard a theory as a hypothesis that has some evidence that may point to it's being true then evolution meets the criteria. We know we are here, we have some ideas how one creature may have evolved into another which in turn evolved into another, and so on. My belief is that we are here because God created us, and to be honest I find it takes more faith to believe that we are here through a succession of cosmic flukes than it takes to believe in a creator God.

Let me turn your question around - why do atheists dislike people who acknowledge creation as a legitimate theory? Or, why do atheists dislike people who insist that evolution is taught as a theory rather than as an established fact?


You've posted a lot of stuff here looking at the Old Testament. How much do you know about Jesus Christ, or about the New Testament? You say you pray to Jesus every night, and that you worship Jesus with all of your heart, but at the same time say you are not a Christian and you struggle to believe the Bible. I'm a little confused exactly where you're coming from.

Hi Iratetanker,

You asked the question: Can one be a Christian if....(paraphrased here).

Let me ask you this:

What is a Christian? That is to say, what must one do to be a Christian?

The other question that I have for you is this:

What (in your opinion) do you understand it takes for someone to get to heaven?

If you are scientifically minded, an interesting book is The Language of God by Francis S. Collins. He is the head of the Human Genome project and one of the world's most pre-eminent geneticists.

The book basically puts Christianity and science into perspective in which science is revealing God's greatness through demonstrating the complexity. He believes that evolution and Christianity are not mutually exclusive. You do not have to choose between them. Evolution does not contradict scripture nor does scripture contradict evolution in his view.

Don't bother posting isolated references and expect me to refute them. I am not saying that these are my views, but rather some people can rationalise faith and evolution.

I am not saying that this book has all of the answers that you seek either, but it shows that you can reconcile faith with scientific discoveries. Evolution in itself is only a set of principles that does not answer where we came from and who we are. It merely describes a process that life came through.

Most Christians who try to refute evolution understand the Bible well, but do not understand what evolution actually is about. It never suggests for example that we came from apes. It merely suggests a common ancestry which is easily proven since we and chimps have 98% the same DNA. This is very circumstantial evidence, but it is very compelling and scientific creationism makes a mockery of itself when it ventures into pure science.

If I had to choose based on scientific evidence alone, then I would choose evolution over scientific creationism any day. Their science borders on quackery to me.

I tend to be agnostic when it comes to evolution. I neither believe in it or against it and I don't care as God will tell me in the end all the answers to my questions.

Whenever anyone tells me that the universe began with a Big Bang, I inevitably ask them if the believe in the law of conservation of energy which holds that matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed. So if it can't, then where did it come from? The Big Bang answers nothing if you believe in the laws of thermodynamics.

For that I turn to another book by Frank J. Tipler called the Physics of Christianity. It is quite a bit heavier reading but he shows that God's existence is consistent with quantum mechanics and he goes through various "miracles" to demonstrate how they do not defy the laws of nature. God it seems knows his physics and does not need to break his own physical laws.

In then end none of this matters. It will all be revealed and there will be no test to get into Heaven. The only thing that will matter is whether you believe God when he said that he is the Creator and that Jesus Christ is his son and that the Holy Spirit is here now working in us and the world. You see, God alone simply exists as the name IAM says. Everything else including us and the laws of the universe come from him. The precise whys and hows are irrelevant.

Man, I am just going to tell you straight up.You can not hold on to this world with one hand and God with the other.You seem to be very confused,The Bible is a Book that I BELIEVE truly records history and if you read it as a nonbeliever you will never get any understanding of it.You can not make yourself become a Christian with out Jesus's help.The way you talk leads me to believe that you don't understand,being begotten by the spirit of God The Father ,And being Drawn to Jesus our Saviour.You sound well educated with worldly knowledge,But here is the part or one of many, that you are not understanding is ,the wisdom of man is foolishness to God, not vice versa. God is a Spirit and seeks them that worship him in spirit and truth(truth being one of the words Jesus used to describe himself)you must believe with your whole heart,not just your head,and I'll end what the book says,YOU MUST BELIEVE that GOD IS and a Rewarder of those who DILIGENTLY SEEK HIM. and as far as your timelines messing up your head,the book says one day is as thousand years with God and a day is as a thousand years.You say you are not a Christian but you worship Jesus,No man can serve two masters.:B

1) Can I still be a born again christian if I didn't believe in talking snakes, talking donkeys, Jonah living in a whales stomach for 3 days, bread falling from the sky, Noah's ark, water from rock, the sun and moon halting, walking sticks turning into snakes, dead men raising from the dead by touching other dead men, magical burning bushes that don't burn, sticks turning into almond plants over night, etc etc etc etc.?

2) Do people who acknowledge the theory of evolution as legitimate go to hell according to scripture?

I'm not trying to be disrespectful, I just cant make myself believe these things no matter how hard I try. I've been trying for a long time too and nothing is working. I even tried praying and reading my bible every night, and I still cant believe those things. Will I go to hell when I die? I worship Jesus with all of my heart and try to be like him as best I can. Please help!

I don't think of evolution as a go to Hell ticket. The laws of nature are God's ways of making things work. However everynow and then he makes a miracle that defies nature to bring to him his believers, and show that he is real.

Hi iratetanker!
Welcome to Bibleforums! :hug:
It's good to have you here!!! :pp :pp :pp


Yes you can be a Christian and adhere to standard scientific theories
such as evolution by natural selection, or the big bang.

Let's start with the easy question: Can one be a Christian if one "acknowledge[s] the theory of evolution as legitimate?" Yes. Certainly one can!! There are plenty of sincere, bible-believing Christians who acknowledge the theory of evolution as legitimate -- who think that it's an accurate outline of earth's biological history. And lots more Christians (whether or not they concur with the standard evolutionary theory) think that there's no particular conflict between what the Bible teaches and an evolutionary view. On this particular board, and in some churches, it's a minority point of view, but most of my Christian friends have no problem with evolutionary theory.


Why become a Christian anyhow?

Your questions almost presuppose a question you don't ask explicitly. Why should one become a Christian, anyhow? Or why might one want to become one?

The answer is twofold. First, we should try to believe what is true, and live in a way that is right. So one should become a Christian if and only if Christianity is true.

I come from a non-believing family: my Dad, the biggest intellectual influence in my life, and a wonderful man whom I admire and adore, was an atheist. I became a Christian because my parents taught me to think and enquire, and over time I became rationally convinced that God exists, and is as Jesus taught Him to be. Further, I became rationally convinced that Jesus claimed to be God's own son -- God on earth in human form -- and convinced that Jesus was about the best and sanest and most profound thinker in history (and I know a lot of history and philosophy and about other religions. I'm a read and think kind of guy, so I looked at lots and lots of stuff before I settled my mind.

I think you somewhat distort things by worrying too much -- as your posts (which I am taking at face value, but which sound facetious) seem to -- about getting sent to hell.

God is a God of truth, and the first thing you need to do, in pursuing questions such as you raise -- what you need to do first both as a rational person, and a person seeking God, and as a person trying to live a good and upright life -- is to seek to know what the truth is about religious matters.

If you sincerely and persistently seek God and want to know Him, you will come to know Him, for He draws near to those who draw near to him.

Second, one should become a Christian as one comes to see God's goodness, and to want to know God, and also as one comes to desire God's help to become a better person, and to be free of the burden of one's sins.

This is a bit of a tall order, and many people have to tackle it gradually. Jesus emphasizes that if one wants to know if His teaching is true, one should try living it out -- try seeking God and loving human beings and doing one's humble best to know the truth -- and in time, as one practices trying to live in this good way, God will find the right way and the right time to help you understand the sometimes difficult truths that Jesus taught.


About Miracles, Science, and Christian belief

You speak as if the presentation of the miraculous in the Bible was incredible. But many distinguished scientists -- physicists, biologists, and others -- have not regarded the performing of miracles as beyond God's scope. For instance, Owen Gingerich -- a Harvard University Prof. of Astronomy and Physics -- is a believing Christian, and writes about the relationship of Science and Christian faith. Again, Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project, a very famous and respected scientist, was a non-believer and, reading about Christian matters, became convinced of the truth of the Christian faith. John Polkinghorne -- a very distinguished British scientist (and Fellow of the British Royal Academy of scientists) again is a distinguished natural scientist and philosopher of science (as well as being an Anglican priest). These people were convinced, as adults and distinguished scientists, that miracles were possible, and that Jesus rose from the dead. Many notable historians -- such as N.T.Wright -- also conclude from the historical documents that these make the hypothesis that Jesus really died and was raised from the dead the most historically cogent hypothesis. I myself have quite a few friends teaching on the science faculty of top universities who are believing Christians.

C.S. Lewis's book Miracles is a basic philosophical exploration of the question of miracles, and why it's not unscientific to believe them if where there are good philosophical and historical reasons which support them.

I hope that helps!
In friendship,
Scruffy Kid

From my perspective "dislike" is a strong word.

But atheists get irritated because evolution is an established fact.

It has been proven, and repeatedly tested.

Whether or not God has anything to do with it would seem to be a more pertinent question.

The core of the argument, the real difference worth fighting over is the idea of abiogenesis. Christians and Darwinists are in a battle for which paradigm is going to be the official dogma of society. The fight is over which cosmology is going to define us as a people. Christians have no beef with the idea that white moths turn gray. They have a beef with those who say that God didn't create everything that exists.

All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. John 1:3.

I would like to encourage the original poster to pray and read the bible daily. Just gently ask God to speak directly to them. We often look for advice and get plenty of good advice, but it's too much to handle at that time and just burdens us. Sending you my love today, if you get time please add me to your prayers. Thank you, SofTy. :hug:

From my perspective "dislike" is a strong word.

But atheists get irritated because evolution is an established fact.

It has been proven, and repeatedly tested.

Whether or not God has anything to do with it would seem to be a more pertinent question.

What has been proven is what is known as micro-evolution, or adaptation. I'm not going to argue against it, I personally wrote some software that allowed it to be demonstrated in a lab. This is nothing more than a species adapting to its changing environment.

The idea that a species can evolve into a different species is a far more contentious issue. Scientists have some ideas what might have happened, but as far as I can see it's far from proven and tested once, let alone repeatedly.

1) Can I still be a born again christian if I didn't believe in talking snakes, talking donkeys, Jonah living in a whales stomach for 3 days, bread falling from the sky, Noah's ark, water from rock, the sun and moon halting, walking sticks turning into snakes, dead men raising from the dead by touching other dead men, magical burning bushes that don't burn, sticks turning into almond plants over night, etc etc etc etc.?

Yes. The Bible is a book of faith. One can have faith that the stories are to be interpreted literally. One can also have faith the stories may be symbolic. One can also have faith that the stories of the time explained things the best way possible. For example, did Jericho fall due to Joshua or because Jericho is on a fault line? If one has no idea of Plate Techtonics then it is much easier to conclude a given earthquake is the work of God. Regardless, all these interpretations acknowledge the belief in a single God.


2) Do people who acknowledge the theory of evolution as legitimate go to hell according to scripture?

I'm not trying to be disrespectful, I just cant make myself believe these things no matter how hard I try. I've been trying for a long time too and nothing is working. I even tried praying and reading my bible every night, and I still cant believe those things. Will I go to hell when I die? I worship Jesus with all of my heart and try to be like him as best I can. Please help!

I am not aware of any scripture which states or implies that believing in the theory of evolution is a guaranteed trip to Hell.

I admire your inquiring mind. Continue to ask and work out your salvation with fear and trembling. It is a fascinating life long journey of discovery and revelation.

Sincerely,

OldChurchGuy

I do have a really hard time believing that a virgin can give birth to a child without intercourse, along with Jesus raising from his grave, BUT I'm still working on it!! I pray to Jesus everynight in hopes that he will make me believe those things, and I think its starting to work. I know it will be harder to get myself to believe all of the other magical occurrences though, and that's what I worry about. Will my lack of faith in magical occurrences send me to hell according to scripture? I NEED TO KNOW PLEASE HELP!!!

You've said that you pray to Jesus every night, in hope that he will MAKE YOU believe. My friend, Jesus won't make you believe anything. You have to WANT to believe. Jesus is God's precious gift given to each one of us, if we WANT to receive it.

Evolution has nothing to do with creation. It sounds mean when I say it, and I don't want to seem mean, but most people are very ignorant when it come to the topic of evolution. Like I said before, it has nothing to do with creation. Evolution actually says that, if you have a dog and you have another dog and one's snout is short and the others is short(but not like a pug), over time the snout(this being repeated) will shorten.Hey!! what did we get with ths little example?! Well one would be persian cats, and of course the pug. (This is called Micro-evolution)
Another thing that is brought to my mind when speaking about evolution, is that Charles Darwin, WAS A CHRISTIAN. He believed that God created everything and that over time, there have been many variations (i.e.evolution) betwixt species. Now, here's where it gets complex: when an atheist starts adding thins to the theory of evolution like "no creator, just soup that made all organisms." Quite frankly the Big Bang theory is misunderstood greatly also. God spoke everything into existence and that was the "Bang".
Once again, evolution is not about how life started, it is about how life is.

I do have a really hard time believing that a virgin can give birth to a child without intercourse, along with Jesus raising from his grave, BUT I'm still working on it!! I pray to Jesus everynight in hopes that he will make me believe those things, and I think its starting to work. I know it will be harder to get myself to believe all of the other magical occurrences though, and that's what I worry about. Will my lack of faith in magical occurrences send me to hell according to scripture? I NEED TO KNOW PLEASE HELP!!!

You don't need to believe that all of that stuff happened right off the bat. God wants us to believe that Jesus is His Son and that He died for our sins. He was raised on the third day, proving to all that though we will physically die, it will not be the end of our life. We will be raised with Him. That is what makes someone a Christian. The belief in the above followed by repentence from our sin.

As far as donkeys and snakes? I would say that it's not necessary to believe all of that immediately. I wouldn't take as bold a stance as to disagree with it, but I don't know that you have to start waving creationism flags. The central point of it is, is your heart open to the truth? Whether you believe it or not, is your heart open to change your belief if God tells you that your belief is wrong? Say you don't believe in the Genesis account of creation. Is your heart open to change that belief if God wants you to? If that's the case, you're right where you need to be. Ask God to show you the truth. He loves doing that.


Chris

1) Can I still be a born again christian if I didn't believe in talking snakes, talking donkeys, Jonah living in a whales stomach for 3 days, bread falling from the sky, Noah's ark, water from rock, the sun and moon halting, walking sticks turning into snakes, dead men raising from the dead by touching other dead men, magical burning bushes that don't burn, sticks turning into almond plants over night, etc etc etc etc.?

2) Do people who acknowledge the theory of evolution as legitimate go to hell according to scripture?

I'm not trying to be disrespectful, I just cant make myself believe these things no matter how hard I try. I've been trying for a long time too and nothing is working. I even tried praying and reading my bible every night, and I still cant believe those things. Will I go to hell when I die? I worship Jesus with all of my heart and try to be like him as best I can. Please help!
Actually, this notion that he renounced evolution is a farce given by a foolish (fallcetic) cretion-scientist, and Chrales Darwin WAS a Christian for most of his life! I don't know where yo get your information but the people that say he WAS a Christian are usually the people that have done historical reasearch on his many diaries and his many citations to his Christian faith. 6,000 year old earth has been diproven for many years! I used to think that it was only 6,000 years old until I saw the overload of information that disproved it(and not just geology). I also found that the people who said they disproved Radiometric dating(after my chemistry studies) were not correct in that they were foccused on organic chemicle compounds, but the dating scales and mechanisms are used in anylizing inorganic chemicle compounds. So, then I knew why the otter that the creation scientist dated was thousands of years old, because it was organic(i.e the otter).

1) Can I still be a born again christian if I didn't believe in talking snakes, talking donkeys, Jonah living in a whales stomach for 3 days, bread falling from the sky, Noah's ark, water from rock, the sun and moon halting, walking sticks turning into snakes, dead men raising from the dead by touching other dead men, magical burning bushes that don't burn, sticks turning into almond plants over night, etc etc etc etc.?

Simply put, no. But belief in these things doesn't need to come immediately. After all, it's quite a bit to get over. However, if God created everything, can't He suspend the physical laws in order to accomplish His tasks?

To be a Christian means you believe that God exists and intervenes in the physical world - this means that He suspends physical laws at times in order to perform miracles. To believe God exists, but the miracles never occurred, is to be a Deist, not a Christian.

Honestly, if God does exist, why is it so hard to believe that He can overpower His creation and perform miracles? Might I suggest a few books to you?


2) Do people who acknowledge the theory of evolution as legitimate go to hell according to scripture?

No, but again, it's a matter of consistency. If a person believes it all happened naturally and there was no need for God, then why bother being a Christian? I believe in evolution, for instance, but also believe that God had to be involved every step of the way in order to keep it together. I don't see natural selection as a sufficient explanation for evolution.


I'm not trying to be disrespectful, I just cant make myself believe these things no matter how hard I try. I've been trying for a long time too and nothing is working. I even tried praying and reading my bible every night, and I still cant believe those things. Will I go to hell when I die? I worship Jesus with all of my heart and try to be like him as best I can. Please help!

I think you might be misunderstanding what Christianity is. Might I suggest you read True Spirituality by Francis Schaeffer? True Christianity begets a belief in the supernatural - in all reality, our every day lives should be miraculous. That isn't to say we should be healing people or walking on water, but merely that we trust in God to guide us every day.

You said you're praying about the Resurrection. I'd say just start there and deal with that. The rest of it can be dealt with later as God reveals more to you.

Strictly speaking, evolution deals ONLY with life and how it changes. It does NOT deal with origins. Even if all life came from a single origin, that's where evolution stops. It can't go any further back. So evolution itself doesn't say that there is no creator. It takes atheism to say that that original life came there by mere chance with nothing else driving it into being.

People often speak of evolution in the same sentence as the big bang. The two are completely unrelated. The origins of the universe have nothing to do with how already existing life changes over generations.

One thing that I will say about evolution is that it makes it easier to justify atheism. But I won't say that the two are mutually inclusive, nor will I say that evolution and christianity are mutually exclusive.

But as I said, my suggestion is just to stick with the Resurrection of Jesus and take it from there.

1) Can I still be a born again christian if I didn't believe in talking snakes, talking donkeys, Jonah living in a whales stomach for 3 days, bread falling from the sky, Noah's ark, water from rock, the sun and moon halting, walking sticks turning into snakes, dead men raising from the dead by touching other dead men, magical burning bushes that don't burn, sticks turning into almond plants over night, etc etc etc etc.?

2) Do people who acknowledge the theory of evolution as legitimate go to hell according to scripture?

I'm not trying to be disrespectful, I just cant make myself believe these things no matter how hard I try. I've been trying for a long time too and nothing is working. I even tried praying and reading my bible every night, and I still cant believe those things. Will I go to hell when I die? I worship Jesus with all of my heart and try to be like him as best I can. Please help!This is the question how can you believe on Jesus if you do not believe anything else God has said, If The Bible is untrue and God a liar why would you choose to believe the Jesus part?

1) Can I still be a born again christian if I didn't believe in talking snakes, talking donkeys, Jonah living in a whales stomach for 3 days, bread falling from the sky, Noah's ark, water from rock, the sun and moon halting, walking sticks turning into snakes, dead men raising from the dead by touching other dead men, magical burning bushes that don't burn, sticks turning into almond plants over night, etc etc etc etc.? 2) Do people who acknowledge the theory of evolution as legitimate go to hell according to scripture? I'm not trying to be disrespectful, I just cant make myself believe these things no matter how hard I try. I've been trying for a long time too and nothing is working. I even tried praying and reading my bible every night, and I still cant believe those things. Will I go to hell when I die? I worship Jesus with all of my heart and try to be like him as best I can. Please help!
Hi, Iratetanker! I am a Christian who does believe all the amazing stories of the Bible, including the 7-literal-days of creation, the global flood and Noah's Ark, the talking serpent in the Garden of Eden, and Jonah's time spent in the belly of the whale. I've learned from experience that I can trust God's Word from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation.

As one who dealt with doubting issues when I was younger, I can relate to your questions. I highly encourage you to check out the Answers in Genesis website, which holds answers to almost every question a person could ever think to ask and contains a wealth of scientific knowledge from scientists who believe as I do that God's Word is literal. Their website is at www.answersingenesis.org (http://www.answersingenesis.org). When you go to their website, click on the tab that says "Get Answers", which will bring up a host of topics to research.

The thing I think is especially important with Genesis is that it lays the groundwork for why we need to believe in Jesus in the first place. If we can't believe that God created us as perfect sinless creatures, if we can't believe that Adam and Eve (the first man and woman) were tempted by the serpent and fell out of relationship with God and thus their descendants throughout history are born separated from God, then it is so difficult to understand why we need Jesus to save us. Jesus died for us to bring us back to that relationship that mankind lost when Adam and Eve sinned. And there are other things to consider from Genesis, as well. For example, if we can't believe that God destroyed the entire world with the flood of Noah's day, it is so much more difficult to understand that the world will be facing another judgment in the future--this time by fire.

Again, I encourage you to study--and don't ever give up!

1) Can I still be a born again christian if I didn't believe in talking snakes, talking donkeys, Jonah living in a whales stomach for 3 days, bread falling from the sky, Noah's ark, water from rock, the sun and moon halting, walking sticks turning into snakes, dead men raising from the dead by touching other dead men, magical burning bushes that don't burn, sticks turning into almond plants over night, etc etc etc etc.?

2) Do people who acknowledge the theory of evolution as legitimate go to hell according to scripture?

I'm not trying to be disrespectful, I just cant make myself believe these things no matter how hard I try. I've been trying for a long time too and nothing is working. I even tried praying and reading my bible every night, and I still cant believe those things. Will I go to hell when I die? I worship Jesus with all of my heart and try to be like him as best I can. Please help!

Brian Lloyd:

The following ismy comment on Evolution; with some interesting facts at bottom!

Evolution (http://www.revelationsmessage.co.uk/Evolution.htm)


Since the mid A.D. 1800s knowledge has accelerated, technology increased, with the consequent huge expansion of war, travel, communication etc., (Dan. 12:4.), these made possible by the advent of the industrial revolution. This expansion coincided with an event in 1858 of the publication of Charles Darwin's "Origin of Species", which led to conflict between theologians and scientists, called "The great debate". In the event the scientists won that debate, and the power (albeit corrupted) of the church declined. The basic thesis of the book by Darwin, is that all life on earth has developed to the present stage, by a very slow process from extremely primitive forms, and that this process is continuous and in the main upward, in the sense of betterment in each stage. The time periods involved are reckoned in the millions of years, and the requirement is that the environment is conducive ( magnanimous ) to the slow process. At the time of the publication of Darwin’s theories, little or nothing was known of the facts regarding the frequent catastrophes that overtake planet earth. (See Immanuel Velikovski : (http://www.revelationsmessage.co.uk/velikovsky.htm) ( Russian scientist), “Worlds in Collision”, “World in Upheaval”, “Ages in Chaos”). Velikovsky, who died in 1979, was an accredited Russian scientist, who because of his radical thinking was sidelined by the mainstream of his day. He was however taken seriously by Albert Einstein, and the two worked together for many years before Einstein’s death. His work has however been adopted recently by governments world wide, due to the growing awareness of the planetary and asteroid effect periodically on planet Earth! In the basic thesis of Velikovsky, the world is subjected to extreme, even catastrophic events every 30,000 to 50,000 years, some of which in his thesis end all life on earth! This of course is in conflict with Darwin’s “steady state” requirement, as clearly evolution, even if the thesis is viable, requires huge time spans of millions of years to develop to “intelligent life forms!” So, the pet theory of current “respectable science” has been dealt a serious blow! The response has been to try to ignore such data as is available, and to argue strongly for the “accepted solution” for life on earth, i.e. Evolution, and to not take seriously the “Creation myth!”

In reality, scientists are quite sharply divided between evolution and creation, Scientists refute Darwin: (http://www.revelationsmessage.co.uk/Scientists%20refute%20Darwin..htm) Depending on which source of information is read, up to 50% of scientists believe in creation, if only secretly, but other surveys show only much smaller figures. Whatever the truth as regards the percentages, it is not the point, what is the point is that life cannot exist without the intervention of The Life Source, Almighty God! No matter how many “soups” are replicated in the laboratory, the “spark" of life cannot be struck! This leaves the “atheists” and “agnostics” with a problem, which as usual in the “human condition” is dealt with in a devious way. The current methodology is to “deny and deride” any thing which could remove the credibility of the Darwin theory, and to shout long and loud, on the principle that in the world as it is, those who shout the loudest and longest, or who hold the reins of power, will win! It is remarkable how loud the atheists scream, when a contrary view is broached!?

The current furore is so pronounced, that one is left wondering what is at stake for those shouting the loudest? Of course there is “professional pride”, but even more alarming, is that should the scientists and governments be proved wrong, the creation hypothesis must be considered seriously, which means the Bible claims must be considered, which would devastate the position of so many people in high and low positions in all walks of life, as they realised their vulnerable position before Almighty God, and His Christ!

On the subject of reconsideration. It is reported that Charles Darwin on his death bed, recanted his theory of evolution. This was commented on by Lady Hope, a reliable source. The account has been denied by Darwin’s family, and by his apologists, but is probably true, as Lady Hope was a devout Christian of good standing. It matters not whether Darwin recanted or not, his is only a human idea. What does matter is the weight of evidence for or against, by those that do not believe the Bible! The above facts, together with the records listed in the website ("old relics ignored by science") at bottom, give plenty of material for sincere "information seekers", who are truly intent on trying to verify or otherwise the "idea" of Darwin!

The behaviour of the scientific community, and of government departments, in attempting to stop information from reaching the public domain, and to stop consideration of such information in open debate is deplorable, and a lengthy account of such is in the websites at bottom. The falsification of "recorded finds" relative to the "missing link" are numerous, and to the shame of so called "objective science!" One of the most well know is the "Piltdown man", but the serious student will easily find many more listed on the "net". A recent example in Germany has destroyed the career of a prominent Professor.

The Bible’s claims on all men and women worldwide, are relevant to the present population of the world, regardless of the truth of the information contained in the following websites, the contents and sources of which can be examined by anybody!

Old relics ignored by science: (http://www.revelationsmessage.co.uk/Old%20relics%20ignored%20by%20science.htm) ( By Dr.J.R.Jochmans, Litt.D.)

A biologists comment on Darwin: (http://www.revelationsmessage.co.uk/A%20biologists%20comments%20on%20Darwin..htm) (Dr. Jonathan Wells PHD, PHD interviewed.)

A comment on evolution: (http://www.revelationsmessage.co.uk/A%20comment%20on%20evolution..htm) (By Philip Johnson, Professor criminal law, Berkeley, USA.)

Did Darwin become a Christian on his deathbed? (http://www.revelationsmessage.co.uk/did_darwin_become_a_christian_on.htm) (By Malcolm Bowden)

Darwin quote, Dawkins comment, and others. (http://www.revelationsmessage.co.uk/Quote%20by%20Darwin,%20comments%20by%20Dawkin%20an d%20others..htm)

DNA, the tiny code that is toppling evolution.: (http://www.revelationsmessage.co.uk/DNA,%20the%20tiny%20code%20that%20is%20toppling%20 evolution..htm) (By Mario Sieglie )

Evolution is not supported by fact: (http://www.revelationsmessage.co.uk/Evolution%20is%20not%20suppoted%20by%20fact,%20var ious%20comments..htm) (Various comments)

"Big Bang" maths: (http://www.revelationsmessage.co.uk/The%20maths%20of%20the%20Big%20Bang.htm) (By Professor Paul Davies)

The Survival of the Fakest (http://www.discovery.org/articleFiles/PDFs/survivalOfTheFakest.pdf): (Dr. Jonathan Wells Phd, Phd.) (Discovery Institute Publication)

http://www.discovery.org/csc/ (http://www.discovery.org/csc/)
Subjectindex (http://www.revelationsmessage.co.uk/Subjectindex.htm)